As we walked through Breisach Germany, where Viking River Cruises stopped, we went on a self guided tour and visited the St Stephens Cathedral on the hill. On our return walk we came across this piece of history that stood out, literally from the side of the building. We were told the individual who resided in the upstairs wanted to protect either his daughter or wife from intruders. It was considered a form of a chastity belt. I know I definitely wouldn’t climb the gutter or the pole before, if I encountered this contraption!
Antiquated Chastity Belt Contraption on an Exterior Drain Pipe
I am always amazed with history and what one runs across on the various tours that Viking offers. One never knows what will materialize or show itself, when traversing the streets in Europe. This, by far though, has to be one of the most shrewd applications I have ever seen while touring European cities. I am glad it caught my eye.
***Portions of our cruise were sponsored by Viking River Cruises. All opinions, as always, are those of my own.
Our last day on the Danube was in Passau Germany. It was a cool day and I was the only individual interested in this view. I went up to the top deck to explore and to see the various perspectives of Passau. It’s a quaint, beautiful little German city with beautiful architecture and is known as the three rivers city. The Danube, Inn and Ilz rivers all converge on this town located on the Austrian border. It’s overlooked by the Veste Oberhaus, a 13th-century hilltop fortress housing a city museum and observation tower. It is also the home of St. Stephens Cathedral featuring onion-domed towers and an organ with 17,974 pipes. It’s a must see if you visit Passau.
Viking Longship Modi
All longships in the Viking River fleet have this wonderful deck on top of their ships. When the weather is nice one can sit on this deck and catch the sun rays. Viking also grows spices and other edible flowers, etcetera, if the weather allows, that they use in their meals. It is set up where one can walk around or jog if it’s not crowded to get a little exercise. I chose to use it to view the different locks we went through at times, even though most were after dark. The pilot cabin is constructed on a lift and can be lowered at certain bridges that require a lower passage. I would urge you to venture up to this deck as it can’t be more than 3 floors above your cabin. I love Viking River Cruises and you owe it to yourself to venture out on one of their river cruises.
***Portions of our cruise were sponsored by Viking River Cruises. All opinions, as always, are those of my own.
As a young man growing up, I learned to love music at an early age. My father was a journalist and reviewed musical acts that came to our small town of Arlington Texas. My first concert was at the age of eleven, when we saw Louis Armstrong. My father favored Jazz and when he was sent an autographed photo of Lionel Hampton and me (I got the opportunity when I met him at The Rainbow Room in Rockefeller Center), my father was in heaven.
Home of the Vienna Boys Choir, This plaque and Ribbons Designates a National Historical Marker in Austria. It was located inside the Hofburg Palace.
In my early teens I heard classical music emanate from my father’s record player and I was hooked immediately. I listened to Bach, Brahms, Vivaldi, Wagner, Chopin, Strauss, Beethoven and Mozart from an early age. Through the years I learned how much classical music was composed or finalized in Vienna, Austria and I vowed, if ever given the chance, I would visit Vienna. When I noticed that the Danube Waltz Cruise fromViking River Cruises passed through Vienna, there was no doubt which cruise we would take.
While in Budapest, we mentioned we were interested in attending the Classical concert in the Viennese Palace the evening we arrived in Vienna. Thank goodness, as the available tickets were limited and some of our new “Viking” friends warned us not to wait and to purchase our tickets quickly . I would advise you purchase your tickets as soon as you are settled in for your cruise. Otherwise you take the chance of not witnessing an enchanting and memorable evening performance. It was an “Optional Excursion”, but well worth the nominal cost.
Karlsplatz Station, formerly of the Viennese Stadtbahn, Designed by Otto Wagner
We arrived in the port of Vienna around 6:00 AM. Given we had a full day ahead of us, we ate breakfast early and prepared for our Shore Excursion: “Vienna City Tour”. We started by touring the Ringstrasse by bus. This is a large circular boulevard, which replaced the city walls built in the 13th century around the city for protection. Sometime in 1857 a decision was made to convert the wall into a boulevard intended to showcase the the grandeur and glory of the Habsburg Empire. The idea originated with Napolean III in Paris. As a consequence, all the nobility and plutocracy hurried and built garish and ornate structures along the boulevard, each trying to outdo the other. This resulted in a plethora of outstanding and opulent properties that remain gorgeous to this day.
Naturhistorisches Museum Vienna, Museum of Natural History
Austrian Parliament Building
I personally love architecture and the examples scattered along the Ringstrasse throughout the city, at times took my breath away. Some of the essence of this period’s architecture can be seen in the Vienna State Opera, Academy of Fine Arts, Palace of Justice and the Austrian Parliament Building. We concluded the bus tour and were dropped at the Habsburg Palace, a huge complex used primarily as the residence and office of the President of Austria. It is one of the most gorgeous complexes I have ever seen. It also houses the world famous beautiful Lipazzan horses. If you are fortunate, you might visit during a training session. They were resting during our visit.
Heldenplatz in front of the Hofburg Palace, most notably remembered for Adolf Hitler’s ceremonial announcement of the Austrian Anschluss, to Nazi Germany on 15 March 1938. It was held on these steps.
As we began the walking tour we entered the massive, historical and decorative complex of the Hofburg Palace. I couldn’t take enough photos fast enough. One could spend an entire day enjoying the art, the various buildings and courtyards. The construction began in the thirteenth century and the palace has housed some of the most powerful people in European and Austrian history.
A gate from the 19th wing of the Hofburg Palace, to the complex center.
The complex was started in the 13th century when the Swiss Wing was constructed. Through the centuries each potentate of the Austrian-Hungarian empire attempted to outdo the prior monarch with larger and more ornate buildings and trim. Included are statues dedicated to themselves in many cases and again each new statue reflected a larger persona. In the 19th and 20th centuries the Festsaal – Festival Hall Wing, St. Michael’s Wing, Neue Burg Wing, Corps de Logis and the Palm House or Butterfly House were added, making it the second largest former palace complex behind only the Palace of the Parliament in Bucharest Romania and slightly larger than the Louvre Palace in Paris.
A Vienna taxi for hire.
As we exited the Hofburg Palace and continued our walking tour we strolled down a street with shops like Gucci, Cartier, Versace, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, etc. I thought we were back on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. Thank goodness there wasn’t time to shop! We continued through the Historic Center of Vienna and were given time to grab a cup of Viennese coffee and a strudel. We chose a location near to us and turned out to be a wonderful break. Aida’s is a chain in Vienna and I personally highly recommend you give it a try, if you visit Vienna.
Aida is a coffee house chain in Vienna with wonderful Viennese coffees and pastries. Try the Strudel, we did!
After the quick coffee, we had time to either explore St. Stephens Cathedral or take a quick walk through the small Christmas Market next to the Cathedral. We obviously opted for the Christmas Markets, but I did catch a glimpse of the Cathedral and took a photo for posterity. The roof tiles are gorgeous and the exterior is amazing. On my next visit to Vienna I will definitely enter and photograph the Cathedral. I love design and architecture of European Cathedrals. One of my favorite objects to photograph.
St. Stephen’s Cathedral, Vienna
The last portion of the tour was basically to let us know where the Christmas Markets were. We spent a few minutes scanning the booths and registering our coordinates in the city. After the morning tour we returned to the ship for lunch. The afternoon gave us options to come back to the Christmas Markets, tour the Farmers’ Market with Chef de Cuisine Martin, or participate in an Optional Excursion: Schonbrunn Palace. Guess which one we chose? I would venture to say that most of you would say the Farmers’ Market or the Schonbrunn Palace. You would be incorrect. There were more and different wooden laser spoons waiting and we needed to add to Kim’s collection, so we came back to the Christmas Market. After all Vienna is one of the best Christmas Markets in Europe and had more booths than we could see.
Our new friends from the Boston area, Gail and Richard Douglas opted for the Schonbrunn Palace and once again Gail came through with a wonderful photograph for my blog. Thank you kindly young lady for your continual contributions.
Schonbrunn Palace, Photographed by Gail Douglas
Additionally we had the Optional Excursion: Classical Concert that night and it gave us more flexibility. Interpretation: we could get back to the ship, eat our early seating dinner and have sufficient time to dress for the concert and be mesmerized by one of the world’s best chamber orchestras, Wiener Residenzorchester. I was super excited to actually hear Mozart and Strauss in a venue, in Vienna with all the history associated with this city. The sculptures in the Palais Auersperg were extraordinary, as witnessed below. Highlights of the concert for me were the Ouverture “Le Nozze di Figaro” (Overture to “The Marriage of Figaro” by W.A. Mozart and The Blue Danube Waltz by Johann Strauss.
A Sculpture in the Palais Auersperg
We left the concert after a long day fully energized by the Concertos and Arias of Mozart and Strauss. What I didn’t realize ahead of time was that we would have brief ballet and opera experiences at the concert. If you remember the photo at the beginning of the stage, you wouldn’t really think any ballet act could perform. Not only did were we entertained with excellent ballet, but a Pas de deux occurred with leaps, etc. I feared for the dancers safety at times, but they performed with nary an incident. We went back to the ship and turned in headed to our next ports in Austria, satisfied that we had tasted Vienna and would have exquisite memories of this grand city, until we returned again.
***Portions of our cruise were sponsored by Viking River Cruises. All opinions, as always, are those of my own.